CO129-512-2 Political situation in China- and Canton 31-5-1929 - 13-11-1929 — Page 73

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mediation of the foreign Consular Body.

Next day

the ships surrendered, their senior officers were

It

paid off and others were put in their place. was not until this day (10th May) that the transport from Swatow, with its one thousand soldiers on board,

arrived at Whampoa. Finding the anchorage deserted,

the transport proceeded to Canton, in the belief that the Navy had already captured the city.

There the

men in the transport were trapped and disarmed. Moreover, on the previous day (9th May) there had been a fight on the East River between the troops under General Tsui King-t'ong and the armies defending

Canton. In the course of this conflict, the defending army blew up one of the spans of the bridge at Shek-tan belonging to the Kowloon-Canton Railway. This delayed the attack upon Canton from the east, and next day, when General Tsui King-t'ong learned of the failure of the coup planned in Canton itself, he voluntarily withdrew his armies up the East River to Wai chow. So ended the first phase in this campaign.

2. Foiled in their attempt to take Canton by a coup de main, the Kwangsi leaders entirely changed their plan. They made no further attempt to advance down the West River or down the East River, but began a wide enveloping movement from the north, through the township of Wai-tsap in the extreme east of Kwangsi province, into Kwangtung province at Kwang-ning, and thence in two directions, both down to Sze-vui, and across to Tsing-ytn. Thus, between

the